Palin-backed Tea Party candidate wins Republican nomination
Sarah Palin’s last minute “robo-calls” to Republicans are believed to have contributed to the narrow win by Tea Party candidate Joe Miller over Senator Lisa Murkowski in an Alaska primary. With most absentee ballots now counted, Miller is ahead by 1,668 votes. As a result, Murkowski has conceded. The eight-year veteran of the senate was deemed too liberal by Sarah Palin in an automated message endorsing Miller shortly before last week’s vote. Although Senator John McCain easily beat out a far-right challenger in Arizona last Tuesday, seven incumbents have now lost the right run in mid-term elections this fall, suggesting a strong contingent of far-right Tea Party candidates.